The fourth annual Miss ARC Broward Pageant recently crowned the 2017 titleholder who will represent the organization and its mission of empowering girls with disabilities.

Margaux Grimmel, 17, from Deerfield Beach returned to the pageant for the second year in a row and now holds the 2017 Miss ARC Broward title after dazzling the audience and judges with her confidence and sense of humor.

"My favorite part was winning the big crown and everybody on their feet applauding for me," she said. "After that, I felt really confident that I really stood out of my shell and finally did this."

Grimmel almost didn't make it to the fateful night after her first attempt the year before. It took a little encouragement from the pageant's staff. And while she wasn't too keen on getting her hair and makeup done, either, Grimmel said she had an amazing time stepping out of her comfort zone.

Kimberly Grimmel, Margaux's mother, said: "That's something I think is credit to the team of people, the staff and the creators of this program, because it wasn't anything I did or we did at home. It had to have been confidence, the encouragement and cheerleading of all the people involved and running the program that really draws the best out of each contestant."

The pageant itself started after members of ARC Broward saw an HBO documentary on a similar event called the Miss You Can Do It Pageant. Director of Development Jessica Rodriguez said they wanted to give that opportunity to the girls of South Florida, as being onstage to showcase a talent is often an experience only typically developing children get to have.

"One thing that's really important to us with the pageant is that it brings awareness to the community of all the amazing abilities that these young women have and that they're not looked at for a disability — they're looked at for all of their abilities," Rodriguez said.

The pageant has grown since, and the girls now receive various goodies and attend events such as tea parties and spa nights in order to get the full pageant season experience. The organization also added cheer squads into the recent event's audience so each of the girls would have a support group throughout the night.

"That is the main thing about this pageant, that everyone truly is a winner. From all the surprises that they received in the months leading up to the weekend itself, to the experiences that they have over the weekend, to the fact that they each received an individualized award …everybody wins," Rodriguez said.

While all of the girls won individualized awards, such as contestant Zofia Perez's "Most Likely To Take Over the World," the judges ultimately chose one girl to act as a representative for all 20 contestants.

The pageant additionally started crowning a second contestant for the title of Little Miss Arc Broward, as organizers felt the age range of 6 through 17 had given the older girls an unfair advantage. The titles are now divided from six to 11 for Little Miss ARC Broward and 12 to 17 for Miss ARC Broward. Ten-year-old Samantha Bash was crowned the 2017 Little Miss ARC Broward alongside Grimmel.

Contemplating her platform for her yearlong reign, Grimmel said: "I can just tell everyone, 'You know what, go out there, do what you need to do, go with your gut, [and] do something.'"